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Date Posted: 02:48:40 06/03/12 Sun
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-58-161-101-39.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 58.161.101.39
Subject: Chapter 246
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "The Rising Dragons ... continued" on 02:43:30 06/03/12 Sun

Chapter 246

As he watched Birkoff walk away, Walter put his hands up and rubbed his temples a little worried about how his friend would cope with Madeline’s questions. He hated seeing his buddy get so worked up about what his fate may be, but he had great confidence that Seymour would come through it with flying colours. Walter’s brain was a minefield of questions but few answers and in seeing Birkoff walk away so miserably to his unknown fate in the White Room gave him cause to ponder.

Madeline could be ruthless in her manner and he wondered if Birkoff could cope with the tactics used by Section’s interrogator. She had been forthright with him about the breach but particularly in her questioning about Belinda. However, it appeared that Madeline was more interested to know about a mole operating in Section. This was the first he had known of such a thing and the fact that she had been suspicious of Belinda made him think that something had really upset the apple cart with Section’s leaders. They were concerned that someone was passing Intel on to George ... but why would Madeline suspect him of such a thing? It was beyond comprehension. He may have had disagreements about how things were run in Section but he was still loyal as he’d told her. When Madeline had brought up the hologram of Belinda and him he was more than surprised that they viewed her as the possible person responsible for being the mole. Perhaps that was why she had probed his connection to Belinda. She didn’t suspect him per se but others close to him were targets and whatever this person may have done, had certainly ruffled the feathers of Operations and Madeline.

What on earth George knew or had done was certainly riling them.

Why would the leader of Oversight want medical Intel about Michael and Nikita? Just what was going on between the leader of Oversight and Section One? Madeline seemed very irate that he seemed to have more Intel on the two operatives than he should have. Walter was in a conundrum just thinking about where this was all going. It was all very perplexing. Whatever George knew was certainly a thorn in their side but he was intrigued at the same time. Why would George need Intel on Michael and Nikita? What reasons or motives would he have to know this Intel? And come to think of it why was he always showing up at Section unannounced?

The more Walter thought about it, the more curious were his thoughts.

The only thing he could think of was that George was merely concerned about the operatives’ health out of courtesy or he was worried about their return to the Rising Dragons’ mission if they were not 100% fit and well. Walter shook his head racking his brain for other scenarios but was coming up with nothing else. No doubt when he gave it more thought he would get to the bottom of why Madeline and Operations were concerned about a mole passing Intel on to George and why he needed the Intel in the first place.

Something was certainly going on in Section since Michael and Nikita had been on their downtime that was for sure.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Birkoff’s technician, Tatiana noticed that Walter seemed to be in a pensive mood when she saw him standing by Birkoff’s station watching his friend leave Comm. He hadn’t moved and he just stood there as if he was thinking about something. Having observed his actions, she came over to check on Walter and lightly touched his shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay?” She asked her voice laced with concern.

Walter dropped his hands and looked at the young woman. “Yeah, I'm all right.”

“What’s wrong? Is Birkoff okay?” Tatiana asked worried for her co-worker. “Where’s he going with such a glum look?”

Walter gave her a quick glance. “To see Madeline.”

“Tearing him away from those computers is almost impossible.” She replied with a smile on her face, however, her smile faded as she continued, “There must be a good reason why Madeline wants to see him. Is it about the breach?”

“Yes.”

A look of anxiety suddenly flashed across her face. “Oh!” Tatiana stood there for a moment longer deep in thought before she walked back to her computer. She sat down and turned back over to face Walter. “He’s not in trouble is he?”

He watched Tatiana’s movements and looked over at her and met her gaze too. There was an earnest expression on her face. Tatiana’s concerned attitude about her colleague was gratifying and Walter appeased her with his reply. “No … He’s got nothing to worry about.”

“I sure hope so. You know how Birkoff gets so intense about things.”

“He'll be fine.” Walter gave the technician a wry smile. Subconsciously he hoped that this would be true but he had no idea how Madeline would go about questioning his friend. Birkoff had done what he’d told him to do so he would be fine … Seymour just had to keep his cool.

With much to consider, Walter moved away from Birkoff’s area and made his way towards Munitions to wait for his friend’s return from his inquisition.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With a heavy burden on his shoulders, Birkoff apprehensively made his way to the White Room. Concentrating on his fate he was unaware of the people around him. His head was lowered and he failed to see anyone who passed him by. Birkoff was naturally nervous about a lot of things so they were not surprised about his demeanor this time. Operatives knew that he was distracted by something and given that he was heading towards the White Room they put two and two together. It was common knowledge that Madeline and Operations had instigated a general inquiry and they knew at some point in time that they too would need to face the music. That would explain why Birkoff was acting as if he was heading towards the gallows.

Birkoff knew he would need to suck up his fears though if he was to have any chance of appearing unfazed by what was ahead of him. However, Madeline always made him feel nervous and he knew he would need to bite the bullet on this occasion but he questioned whether he had the nerve to do so. He brought to mind his conversation with Walter. He only hoped that by doing what his buddy had told him with the calibrator would give him the courage that he need to get through Madeline’s questions and come out the other side unscathed. However, it was Walter’s reminder about his meeting with Operations about the breach that was giving him more confidence the closer he got to the White Room. Operations had believed him and he’d backed up his claims to his satisfaction so Birkoff hoped he could convince Madeline of the same conclusion.

He thought about what Walter had said also that the session in the White Room was a piece of cake and he hadn’t been tortured. Birkoff desperately hoped it would be the same for him as well. If he was able to control his nerves then he was sure that he would be okay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seymour saw his destination come into view but he also saw Henry and Elizabeth waiting there for him to arrive. Nervously Birkoff walked up to them. Facing the steel door of the White Room, he was reluctant to enter, but was helped along in his decision by the twins who were there to escort him in if needs be. Noting Birkoff’s hesitation, they moved to stand either side of him. However, before they could touch him, he shook them off. “I know the drill,” he announced with gusto and head held high he walked inside the room.

Upon entering Birkoff sat himself down in the chair where he was restrained by the two operatives. He was a bit worried as he glanced quickly about the bright, empty room taking in his surroundings. It was cold, stark and foreboding. So this is what the White Room is like. Now he knew what it was like for the terrorists who were interrogated here. The glaring white lights in the circular room were blinding, and Birkoff felt a tension headache forming. Henry and Elizabeth stood to the side and he watched them through half closed eyes as they readied what Madeline might need for this session of questioning. He began to fidget a little as he sat in the chair nervous at what would unfold. Walter had said he hadn’t been tortured but nonetheless the pounding of his heart sounded thunderous in his head, while the hairs on the back of his neck rose up. Out of the corner of his eye Birkoff could see a syringe which could only mean one thing … they were going to inject him with a truth serum. Birkoff became more agitated at this fact and silently prayed that what he’d endured with the calibrator would help him with this grilling.

Birkoff knew he was scared, but … he was not defeated. He would show courage under duress. Summoning all the nerve he had inside he took a deep breath and waited for Madeline to appear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It felt like he’d been there for ages but it was only minutes before Birkoff heard the heavy steel door open. The silence was shattered by the creaking hinges of the door and the sound of Madeline’s footsteps echoing in the room accompanied by her greeting. “Hello, Mr Birkoff.”

As was her usual procedure, she circled the chair before beginning her questioning to put him off guard. It was working and had the desired effect. Birkoff was well and truly shaking in his boots. “Why am I here? I didn't do anything,” he blurted out.

“That’s what I aim to find out Mr Birkoff,” Madeline replied composedly.

“I don’t know what it is that you want to know.”

Madeline continued pacing slowly, circling Birkoff as she spoke. She advanced on the chair intimidating him as she came closer and closer. “Oh … but I think you do.”

This reply made Birkoff very worried.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Obeying orders, Elizabeth attached a small electrode to Seymour’s fingers then returned to the table to monitor his reactions to Madeline’s questioning.

This was his first experience in the White Room and his nerves were in overdrive. “Please don't hurt me,” he implored. “I didn’t know I was going to be tortured.”

“That’s not my intention … but you may or may not be … the decision will be entirely up to you. It will however, be at my discretion for Henry and Elizabeth to help with your questioning … if answers are not forthcoming.”

The pupils in Birkoff’s eyes had grown to the size of saucers as a result of Madeline’s statement.

“Shall we begin?”

All he could do was nod in acknowledgement.

“Your name.”

“Seymour Birkoff.”

“Your rating.”

“Technical Operative, Level Two.”

Madeline paced behind Henry and Elizabeth asking Birkoff questions, while they oversaw and monitored the various readings. However they were just getting a static line with his responses.

“I'm not getting ... any kind of reading at all. Just ... noise.”

Madeline looked down at Elizabeth and asked, “Is it the equipment?”

“No. It's fine,” she responded after performing a quick status check on the apparatus and connections.

Refocusing her attention back on Birkoff, Madeline continued the questions. “Are you on active status?”

“Yes.”

Once again, Henry and Elizabeth got the same reaction … no significant reading. “No … Still not working,” they interrupted.

“What's going on?” Madeline demanded as she turned and glared over at the two torture technicians.

They in turn looked up at her. “A small percentage of Ops don't respond to I.T. testing. It seems that Birkoff could be one of those.”

Madeline walked over to the computer and pulled up Birkoff's profile. It showed that he'd never been through this type of questioning before … that could explain the anomaly. “Try it again,” she instructed leaning over and hitting the button to reset Henry and Elizabeth's equipment.

Again Henry shook his head and gave Madeline an apologetic shrug when he got the same reading. “Nope. ... It is possible there's been a change in body chemistry from being exposed to EMFs from his computer system.”

“They can cause interference with the cell processes and functions,” Elizabeth added in clarification.

Focusing her attention back on Section’s computer genius, it became obvious that dealing with all those computers for so long each day had obviously affected his metabolism with the unseen electromagnetic radiation waves which had in turn probably interfered with the machinery. It made sense. “Very well. We’ll discontinue this experiment.”

Elizabeth removed the various electrodes attached to Birkoff while Henry packed up their equipment then waited for further instructions from Madeline.

“You can go. If I need you again … I’ll call.” They quietly left her alone with an extremely nervous Birkoff who realized that, while he didn't fail the test, he obviously didn't pass it either.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on text from … Mercy EG and LITS

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